


Take Only What You Need

by Wuzzler



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Evacuation, Gen, Injury, Rescue, Starkiller Base
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12643869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wuzzler/pseuds/Wuzzler
Summary: a quick one off covering Hux's, Phasma's, and Kylo Ren's evacuation from Starkiller base.





	Take Only What You Need

                For the first time, Hux actually found himself forced to elbow his way through his troops.  With the evacuation alarms tearing through Starkiller base, everyone was making their way toward the hangers.  Hux, on the other hand, needed to get back to his personal quarters before abandoning the place.  He went against the tide of armour and uniforms, shouting and commanding people to get out of his way, but they either didn’t hear him, were too pressed in by others to move, or were simply too preoccupied to realize who he was.

                Reaching the corridor that led only to the quarters of high command provided some relief.  No one was over here, and once he closed the blast door behind him, he was able to hear himself think.  The alarms weren’t as harsh and intruding in this section of the base, Hux had made sure of that.  Running down the corridor, he soon arrived at his quarters.  He failed to punch in the code correctly the first time, and screamed at himself for his failure.  On the second attempt, he took a deep breath first, steadying his nerves so that he didn’t repeat his mistake.  There was still plenty of time to do what needed to be done before the base was consumed by the sun burning inside of it.

                There were several items in his quarters that he wished he take with him, but he couldn’t risk pausing for too long.  He grabbed a small technical unit from a stand near the door, then moved to a small closet from which he pulled a duffle bag.  His last stop was the bedroom, to get his one indulgence, the only thing he made any attempt to keep hidden from Snoke.  Dropping to his belly, he located Millicent exactly where he expected her to be.

                The ginger cat’s eyes shone golden from the darkness beneath Hux’s bed.  The alarms had scared her, so she had hid under there, the safest space she knew of.  Having to wiggle beneath the bed in order to retrieve the cat was degrading, but at least Hux didn’t have to search his whole quarters for her.

                Millicent whined, meowed, and even hissed as Hux grabbed hold and pulled her out.

                “I know.  I know,” Hux told the cat.  “I don’t like this either, but we have to go, and we have to go now.”

                Millicent curled tightly against his chest, her claws digging into his uniform.  She knew something was happening, but not what.  Her muscles were tight, and she kept looking back at the bed, wondering if it was worth fighting Hux to crawl back under it.

                “I’m so sorry,” Hux told her as he opened the bag he had grabbed and unceremoniously shoved the frightened cat into it.  Millicent protested, trying to keep hold to Hux, but he closed the bag with one hand, while detaching her from his uniform with the other.  Once zipped inside, Millicent complained louder, wiggling around as she tried to find an opening.  Hux would make it up to her later with treats and cuddles, but for now, he hoisted the bag over his shoulder.  Once he started moving, Millicent fell still.

                Back out in the corridor, Hux checked the device he had grabbed.  It should tell him where Kylo Ren was, provided he hadn’t been so injured that his tracker had been separated from his body.  Hux assumed the Sith in training had to be injured, for there was no other reason Snoke would need Hux to get him.  For some reason, Kylo Ren was outside.

                With the vicious man on his mind, Hux paused outside Kylo Ren’s quarters.  He knew he shouldn’t stop, but he also knew that grabbing one last item might help the Sith.  Supreme Leader Snoke might even be pleased if Hux rescued it.

                Tapping in the code, Hux opened Kylo’s door.  The charred ruin of Lord Vader’s helmet wasn’t hard to find, for it was displayed prominently.  Hux knew how the display worked, lifting a panel and pressing the red emergency button located underneath.  A force field instantly wrapped itself in a dome above the helmet, then filled in the space with a gel that would prevent the dust and burned metal from getting knocked around.  The upper half of the display’s base then detached, providing a long handle that Hux could throw over his other shoulder.

                Finally leaving the area designated for command quarters, Hux found the other corridors had emptied somewhat.  The flow of personnel had lessened dramatically.  Only those who had, out of necessity, manned their stations for longer were now making their way to the hanger.  Hux knew that if he checked various areas, there would still be troopers and technicians at their posts, remaining until the end.  They knew their position.

                As he neared the hanger, Hux was again delayed, but this time by a sound that didn’t match the rest of what he heard.  There was the sirens, the deep rumbles of the planet being consumed, the footfalls of running evacuees, and a strange, metallic banging that didn’t match any of these.  As he listened, he recognized it was a pattern, something being made by a living creature.  And it was close.

                Hux moved farther down the corridor and located the source of the sound.  It was coming from a service hatch that led to a trash compactor.  Curious as to what could possibly be in there, as well as the knowledge that it would only take a second to check, he pressed on the panel that opened the hatch.

                “Captain Phasma?” he frowned, confused by the woman’s appearance.

                “General Hux,” she saluted smartly, bits of detritus sliding off her armour.  “Why have you not yet evacuated?”

                “I was just on my way.  Come on, you can explain this situation to me later.”

                With his captain behind him, Hux felt mildly more confidant, even if she smelled wretched.  The corridor was shaking quite badly now, as panels vibrated loose and pipes burst.

                Upon reaching the hanger, he headed straight for the Upsilon-class command shuttle.  Behind him, Phasma barked out orders, commanding a unit of Stormtroopers to accompany them while also procuring a few pilots.

                “Take us to these coordinates,” Hux told the pilots as he handed over the tracker.

                It was disconcerting that Kylo Ren hadn’t moved.  Surely Snoke would know if he had died, but what if he was injured more grievously than suspected?

                As the shuttle rose and exited the hanger, Hux went to the small medical bay on board to make sure the area was prepared.  Two chambers sat at the ready, while a nurse droid was standing by.  Hux placed Vader’s helmet near one of the chambers, somewhere where Kylo would be able to see it.  Hopefully the Sith wasn’t so badly injured that such measures as providing a reason to hold onto living were required.  Hux then turned to the other chamber and placed the bag containing Millicent inside.  He pulled back the zipper, then quickly sealed the chamber.  The ginger cat poked her head out briefly, but then resumed cowering inside the bag.  She should be comfortable in the chamber for the time being, until Hux could figure out what to do with her.

                “Make sure nothing happens to that cat, or to that helmet,” Hux commanded the nurse droid.

                In the rest of the shuttle, Captain Phasma had gotten the troops in order.

                “There’s not much time, sir,” she said as Hux took up a position beside her, looking over the heads of the pilots.  The attacking X-Wings were retreating with a larger ship in their midst, too far to make out enough detail for identification.

                “Once we land, you and I will retrieve Kylo Ren.  The resistance is retreating, so we shouldn’t run into trouble.  The troops will remain guarding the shuttle.”

                “Yes, sir.”  Captain Phasma slid away to relay his orders.  Hux hoped she’d be able to clean her armour soon.

                As the shuttle touched down, as close as the trees and splits in the planet would allow, Hux waited with Phasma by the hatch.  The moment it opened, the two of them were out, running through the snow to the tracker’s location.  Beneath Hux’s feet, the ground bucked and rippled, trembling with the power of the star inside.  A black smudge appeared in the white snow, and as Hux neared, the ground pulled away from under him, driving the general to his knees.  He got an up close look at the damage that had been done to Kylo Ren.

                General Hux had been born and bred to lead, to be a commander of troops.  Kylo Ren was being trained to be his greatest asset, his fiercest warrior.  But now, here was Hux, kneeling in the snow as his base, his planet, was ripped apart all around him.  Here was Kylo Ren, unconscious, as pale as his surroundings, his blood soaking into that same planet.  It felt as through more than just the ground were pulling away from Hux.

                “Pathetic,” Captain Phasma commented, looking down at the both of them.

                Was that a comment on Kylo Ren’s condition?  Or Hux’s stunned reaction to seeing him?  It was very out of character for Hux’s loyal captain.  What had happened to her that resulted in her being in the trash compactor?  Could it be she was making the comment to herself?  Whatever the cause of her utterance, it was the perfect word for the situation they found themselves in.

                “Pick him up, we have to get back to the shuttle.”  Hux scrambled back up onto his feet while Phasma knelt down.  “Be careful with him.”  Hux couldn’t quite use the word gentle.

                Phasma wrapped her arms under Kylo’s knees and shoulders, hoisting him up and out of the snow with ease.  As she turned to head back to the shuttle, Hux spotted Kylo’s lightsabre.  He scooped it up, seconds before another split in the planet’s crust could claim it.  With the ground falling away behind them, Hux and Phasma ran for their very lives.

                The shuttle was still waiting, the pilots knowing better than to leave their general behind.  It hovered just above the ground, for there was nothing left that was stable enough to support it.  A pair of Stormtroopers crouched at the edge of the hatch, each with an arm held out to provide assistance.  Phasma leapt aboard with ease, but Hux wasn’t so fortunate.  The ground caved again, pitching him forward.  A Stormtrooper managed to grab hold, but not before Hux struck his head on the edge of the opening.  Hot blood poured down the side of his face from a gash near his hairline as he was hauled aboard.  The pilots didn’t wait for the hatch to close, swiftly pulling up into thinner atmosphere.  Hux got to see the planet crumble beneath them as he was dragged inside to safety.

                “Sir, are you all right?” the Stormtrooper who had grabbed Hux asked once the hatch was finally sealed, cutting off the wind.

                “I will be.”  Hux got to his feet and raised a hand to his head, only to realize that it was still clutched around the lightsabre.  The weapon had clearly been damaged.

                A little unsteady, but refusing aid, Hux made his way to the small medical bay.  Phasma had already laid down Kylo Ren in the prepared chamber, while the nurse droid was stripping him, revealing the extent of his wounds.

                “Sir?” Phasma spoke with concern upon spotting Hux.

                “It’s worse than it looks,” Hux told her, not actually sure how bad it really was.  He turned to the nurse droid.  “Will he live?”

                “I believe so.  You got him here in time,” the polite voice of the droid responded.

                “Let me know if he needs more blood than the ship has on board.  I’m a universal human donor,” Hux explained.

                “Perhaps you should sit down, sir,” Phasma insisted, guiding him to a seat against the wall between the two chambers.

                The droid finished with Kylo Ren and allowed the chamber to hiss shut.

                “Shall I clean and suture your wound?” the droid then asked Hux.

                He gestured for it to go ahead.  As the droid retrieved the needed supplies from a cupboard, Hux looked around himself.  Millicent, Lord Vader’s helmet, Captain Phasma, and a battered and broken Kylo Ren.  These were the only things he had left of his great Starkiller base.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally there was going to be more to this, but It's been sitting around for over a year so I don't think any other chapters will be forth coming. It works fine by itself.
> 
> Also, I write actual books which you can [buy here](https://www.amazon.com/Kristal-Stittle/e/B006NL1X4W). Please consider them.


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